Valentine
by Santi Ellway
Summary: Set in Hoenn five years after the events of R/S/E, Valentine follows the story of 20 year old Jake Leoche as he travels outside Lavaridge for the first time since his arrival 15 years ago. After the PC network shuts down, Jake is forced to deliver Medicinal sand to the Verdanturf rehabilitation center on foot, but without a pokemon, can he even hope to get there on time if at all?


System error #4377: PCN non-responsive.

Try again?

At this point I had almost given up hope. After rebooting 3 times, running a full virus scan and troubleshooting for a solution I decided it was about time to contact Brigette. I punched her number into the PC, functioning on habit.

System error #4377: PCN non-responsive

Try again?

….This should have been obvious. If I can't send an item though the user to user transfer system, it would be more than likely PCcom would be down as well. "Damnit!" I cursed aloud. "This day just keeps getting better and better!" Thankfully Hoenn has multiple means of communication. I pulled out my HolNav and pushed the voice recognition button. "Ette lab. Extension 501-B". The device lit up, displaying the now famous Tech giants Logo.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!" raged the voice on the other end of the line. I knew she would answer. Ever since Brigette hired the woman she made it a personal mission to screen for my number. After a second of silence I placed the device to my ear, not knowing it was still too soon. "IF YOU KEEP WASTEING MISS BRIGETTES TIME LIKE THIS WE WILL START CHARGING YOU FOR CALLING! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO UNTANGLE THE LINES AFTER PUTTING EVERYONE ON HOLD JUST SO YOU CAN BLABBER ON ABOU-" I had never felt so relieved to be put on hold in my entire life. The soft tones of the hold music were a complete contrast to that loudmouth secretary.

Not even seconds later a younger voice answered. "This is Lanette, although judging by the tone Marcy was using I can conclude that you already know that. I still don't fully comprehend the reasoning for her irrational hatred towards you Jake. You know she doesn't have access to the VidPhone, so why bother with the landline? It would have even been less of a hassle to call Brigette directly instead of using the Company number, but seeing as you did, I can deduce that this is most likely a business call instead of a personal one." Right on the money. Normally I would congratulate her on the analysis, however, "The PCN isn't responding. All functions seem to be down, and I need to deliver a time sensitive package to Verdanturf." I didn't have time to socialize. "How long until its back up?" Lanette let out an exhausted sigh, "the Hoenn Personal Computer Network is currently down due to technical difficulties stemming from a recent attempt at making a connection to the Kanto network. At this time the source of the crash is unknown, and until it has been discovered the PCN will be Unresponsive." Her monotone rehearsal had exacerbated the headache I gained from Marcy almost more than the unwelcome fact that the PCN would most likely not recover soon.

"Brig is on her way to see Bill right now, but the system may be down for a few days." Lanette informed me. "Ok, well thank you for rescuing me from Marcy. I'll have to go now. Looks like ill need to head to Verdanturf on foot. I hope y'all don't have too much trouble recovering the network." I was eager to end the conversation, but Lanette's curiosity got the better of her. "What exactly is this time sensitive item?" She questioned. I hesitated, trying to decide which details to share with her. Lanette had always been able to keep a secret. It also helped that I had dirt on her to keep the information in check. "I have to deliver a shipment of the resort sand to the rehabilitation center in Verdanturf. They have been low for quite some time, and only just now requested a large shipment due to some strange influx of patients. "I paused, hesitating for a moment. "How secure is this line?" Lanette let out an audible "hmm?" there was a click, and 3 seconds of silence before the call resumed "we are on my separate line now. What's going on?"

Once again I hesitated. Normally I would only share this specific detail with Brigette considering the nature of the information. Professor Birch and Dr. Reedus made me well aware of the risk involved with this going public.

"They think it might be Pokerus"


End file.
